Session Notes: State college system freezes hiring

The president of the state’s largest public college system announced a hiring freeze Tuesday to cope with mid-year budget cuts to the Connecticut State Colleges & Universities system as the state closes its budget shortfalls.

“These spending control measures are necessary given our projected shortfall for the current fiscal year and the financial pressures being exerted on all CSCU institutions,” said President Mark Ojakian. “We know it is not optimal and only intend to implement these procedures for the short-term.”

Mark Ojakian, president of Connecticut State Colleges and Universities

The CSCU system includes the four regional state universities, 12 community colleges and the online Charter Oak State College.

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Jacqueline won two first prizes from the national Education Writers Association for her work in 2012 – one in beat reporting for her overall education coverage, and the other, with Keith Phaneuf, in investigative reporting on a series of stories revealing questionable monetary and personnel actions taken by the Board of Regents for Higher Education. Before coming to The Mirror, Jacqueline was a reporter, online editor and website developer for The Washington Post Co.'s Maryland newspaper chains. She has also worked for Congressional Quarterly and the Toledo Free Press. A graduate of Bowling Green State University, Jacqueline is in the public policy master’s program at Trinity College. E-mail her at jrabe@ctmirror.org.

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Mark Ojakian, who took over as the leader of the state's largest public college system amid turmoil last year, has won something his predecessors were unable to achieve – a contract extension from the system's governing board. The extension brings no raise in his $335,000 salary.

School construction costs, coupled with well over $1 billion the state must contribute each year toward teachers' pensions, mean about 40 percent of the state's annual education spending is locked in for years to come. Third of seven stories.

"You can't have a president every one or two years and expect that you're actually going to provide the best service to students and to our state," President Mark Ojakian said during a recent wide-ranging interview in his Hartford office. "You just can't do that."

Mark Ojakian, who took over as the leader of the state's largest public college system amid turmoil last year, has won something his predecessors were unable to achieve – a contract extension from the system's governing board. The extension brings no raise in his $335,000 salary.

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy vetoed two bills Thursday, siding with municipalities on one that would have allowed 100-percent property tax breaks in perpetuity for non-profit and for-profit arts entities. The other would have enhanced legislative oversight over economic-development incentives, and Comptroller Kevin P. Lembo called that veto "deeply troubling."

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